WAustralia Launches Vast 3GW Wind Farm, Closes Last 'Coal Plant'

WA’s Last Coal Plant to Close, Making Way for $6 Billion, 3 GW Wind Power Project, Photo: Coal Power Plant Australia, Source: iStock

Australia pledged to close the last oldest coal-fired power station in Western Australia and propose a $6 billion, 3-gigawatt (GW) wind power project. This move towards clean electricity is the ultimate example of wind power and revolution. According to the policy, the site is located about 60 km east of Koli, where construction will begin in 2028, with power generation expected by 2030 as the state's final coal plant closes,

Spanish energy giant Acciona Energia is slated to install 400 wind turbines at the Bellwether Wind Project, a 2,240 megawatt-hour (MWh) Niven battery in Kali and a 2,000 MWh Synergy battery south of Perth to be operated by China's Trina Solar.

Acciona Energia already operates Australia's largest wind farms, having completed the 930 MW McIntyre project in Queensland and the 1.33 GW Golden Plain wind project in Victoria. In response to the growing demand for green energy, the Western Australian Government estimates that up to 50 GW of new wind, solar, and storage capacity will be needed in the coming decades.

Meanwhile, the Western Australian government has committed to phase out coal-fired power by 2029, investing $3.8 billion in renewable energy infrastructure including wind, batteries, and pumped hydro storage.

Mark McGowan, an Australian former politician, retired in 2023.

The Muja power station is slated to shut down in 2029 after 63 years of operation, with one of its four units slated to shut down in October 2022, and the other scheduled for this year.

Credit: ABC News